Thursday, September 13, 2012

Romney's Tax Return Rules: We Pass Them Around Like Baseball Cards, but Not to You

We've already figured out that Mitt Romney is a very privileged man and in many ways accords those privileges directly to himself without noting any awareness of how active minds might view it. I've watched this kind of behavior over a lifetime of being in the blood world, fer chrissake. I've had a couple of dozen businesses and/or jobs, and in all of these pursuits I've noticed self-important people. They're hard to miss.

Rather than describe them all, let me offer a typical quote from one of these types: "You do know who I'm am, don't you?" To which the answer could be "Yes," "No," or "I don't know who you are, but I can tell you're a fucking idiot, too bad I'm you're waiter and need this lousy job."

Mitt Romney would easily fall in the last category except he's in a very special category that's limited mostly by genes or the luck of the draw. He was born privileged and has never lived outside of his class's compound, you know the one where there are few people who say, "You're rich, in charge, but it's obvious you still a fucking idiot." People who say that are variously known as ex-chauffeurs, ex-gardeners, ex-housekeepers, or even the occasional ex-attorney. People like Romney tend to have people whose job it is to be middlemen between them and the people who call them fucking idiots, so it's likely he hasn't ever had many, if any, such moments.

Release my tax returns? I'm running for president, for pete's sake!

That's why he makes weird rookie mistakes while trying to run for the highest office in the land. How he's handling his and other's tax returns is a case in point. Here's how it lays out:

He releases one incomplete tax return for 2010 and claims that he intends to release his 2011 tax return at some date, maybe in October. That's all, folks.

His running mate, Paul Ryan, is offering the last two years, in keeping with the campaign's practice, as established by Fearless Leader.

Mitt Romney, when he was in the running for McCain's veep choice, submitted twenty-three years of returns.

Paul Ryan, at the request of Fearless Leader, submits ten years of tax returns to be considered to be Fearless Leader's veep choice.

Now, it's apparent, one would think at this juncture, that Mitt Romney must think we're bleeding, fucking idiots to accept this as anything but unmitigated gall and nonsense. But here's the thing: He doesn't. He grew up -- and has never really been offered an opportunity to suss it out -- believing that the rules don't apply to him.

What's worse is the likelihood that he doesn't even know that there are rules, conventions, whatever you want to call them, that govern the elite's behavior. Well, folks, he's right, from his perspective. So there's only one thing the collective American will can do, and that is to reject a man like Mitt Romney, just don't let him get away with the kind of contempt he displays toward the American people.

Mitt's La Jolla home: no tax returns here, only loopholes.

Now, just to lay it out: Mitt Romney thinks he deserves to see more tax returns from Paul Ryan than the American people, aka voters, deserve. He thinks that John McCain deserves to see more of Mitt Romney's tax returns than the American people deserve.
And it's fun to remember that, after reviewing Mitten's tax returns, John McCain chose as running mate one Sarah Palin, mostly likely because she was one crazy-sexy-pretty hockey with more lipstick than a mama grizzly. Also, maybe her tax returns didn't blow.

Here are some links. The Daily Beast spills on the beans on Ryan's tax returns. The same story verified how many tax returns (23) Mitt gave to Steve McQueen John McCain. Here's the NY Times reiterating Mitt's stance. The google hasn't yet shown me how many tax returns Palin submitted to McCain. Here's a Politico story that "explains" why McCain chose Palin over Romney. Believe it at your peril.

My advice for likely voters is, one, plain just don't vote for someone who holds you in contempt, and two, write, email, phone, or submit comments to every person, congressman, reporter, newspaper, or magazine that you think might send the message on to the Mittster: Give us your tax returns. Man up and act like your father. Otherwise, stay away from government and go find a corporation, cuz they're people, too, my friend. Just pray they don't want to see your tax returns, too.

About the American Human

The American Human is written by Calvin Ross, a retired teacher who at various points in life has been a musician, woodworker, restaurateur, narrator, English teacher in Japan, novelist, technology journalist, and private tutor to Japanese children here in the U.S.

Happily residing in the wine country of Sonoma County north of San Francisco, Calvin has lived in the Philippines, the Netherlands, and the aforementioned Japan, as well as in Chicago, Colorado, Georgia, and many different towns in California, including, of all places, the Mojave Desert.

Calvin, you may note quickly, is a liberal progressive who doesn't think being called a socialist is all that bad, especially since he sort of would like living in Denmark if it weren't so cold. He blogs because he can.